By Mick Oseji. Asaba
An Air Peace aircraft was grounded after colliding with a deer while taxiing on the runway of the Asaba International Airport in Delta State.
The incident, which left the animal crushed to death, also left the aircraft marked as Aircraft on Ground (AOG), causing not a small disruptions to scheduled flights.
The Daily Crucible reports that deer believed to be colorblind, has the ill-luck of not having the ability to focus in one direction with both eyes, causing this ruminant animal to have poor depth perception and see at lower resolution than humans, a disadvantage that is probably behind its amazing seemingly reckless and thoughtless rough jumping predisposition when frightened or scared by danger or loud noise.
The Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, confirmed the incident on his X (formerly Twitter) page.
He identified such unforeseen occurrences are part of the challenges that lead to flight disruptions.
Achimugu said, “Monitoring reports yesterday indicated that an Air Peace aircraft ran into a large antelope, decimating the animal and leaving the aircraft on ground.
“As a result, flights meant to be operated by this aircraft would naturally be disrupted, even though engineers are on the ground to assess and fix the plane. Passengers waiting would naturally be infuriated.”
He noted that while the incident was beyond the airline’s control, Air Peace is still obligated to inform passengers, provide refunds, and extend necessary care, stressing that the NCAA would not hesitate to sanction the airline if it fails in its responsibilities.
The NCAA has assured passengers of safety measures at the airport and promised to investigate the runway intrusion to prevent future occurrences.
